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Repression by the Syrian armed forces against protesters demanding a change of government has continued to escalate during August, with armoured units firing on civilians in the cities of the city of Homs, Hama, Deir al-Zour, Dara'a, Aleppo and Idlib. Civilians across Syria have been forced to flee prior or during attacks but have been able to return after the armed forces have moved on.

On 15 August, shelling by gunboats of the port of Latakia displaced between 5,000 and 10,000 Palestinian refugees in the coastal camp of El Ramel. UNRWA condemned the firing on civilians and called for immediate humanitarian access. A week later the vast majority of the camp residents had returned, after seeking refuge in other cities such as Homs, or else on the beach or elsewhere in Latakia. During that week UNRWA provided assistance to some 2,000 people, but remained without information on the rest of its beneficiaries, including families that would have been physically unable to leave the camp.

The government has come under increasing international pressure, with the EU calling for a special session on Syria at the UN Human Rights Council and drafting a resolution on the situation. Regional states such as Turkey denounced the repression of civilians, while Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Tunisia withdrew their ambassadors.